Bosses have their brand’s future and their employee’s happiness in their hands. However, cultivating respect in the workplace isn’t accomplished all at once. Instead, it’s about a series of daily habits that mesh together to create leadership that engages people and instills trust in them too.

The average person doesn’t choose to swim upstream while others swiftly float downstream, or zig when others choose to zag. But having the courage, character and confidence to enter into the abysmal unknown and create value—personally and organizationally—for others is exactly what constitutes leadership and exactly what defines them as leaders.

When we think of great leaders, certain characteristics come to mind: They have confidence in their abilities and conviction in their beliefs. They “trust their gut,” “stay the course,” and “prove others wrong.” They aren’t “pushovers,” and they certainly don’t “flip-flop.” But this archetype is terribly outdated.

As Juan Manuel Fangio exited the chicane before the blind Tabac corner in the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix, he stomped on the brake. It was a counterintuitive reaction for a racing driver exiting a corner — but one that likely saved his life.